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National Association Honors Phil Roberts

August 22, 2011 — The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) presented
its Outstanding Educator of the Year award to University of Wyoming History
Professor Phil Roberts.

He was honored for "excellence in making the history of the
emigrant trails come alive for University of Wyoming students" and for his work in using the trails across
Wyoming to illustrate an approach to looking at Wyoming from the perspective as
a "trail to somewhere else."

"While my office is at the university, my classroom is the
state of Wyoming," Roberts told the group when accepting the award. He has
taken classes to trail sites over the years and in the past 20 years Roberts
has averaged about 50 public presentations annually to civic, educational and
historical groups around the state.

Additionally, there are a number of articles and lecture
notes relating to Wyoming's trails on Roberts' website.

OCTA promotes research, education and preservation
activities to preserve the stories and the legacy of the 19th century American
migration on the Oregon, California, Santa Fe, Applegate and Mormon trails.

A UW faculty member since 1990, Roberts has served as editor
of "Annals of Wyoming." He is co-author (with his two brothers) of "Wyoming Almanac,"
now in its fifth edition, and his edited textbook, "Readings in Wyoming
History," is in its fourth edition.